Railway signal apparatus.



No. 817,459. PATBNTED APR. 10, 1906. W. H. & S. A. WILSON. RAILWAYSIGNAL APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 0OT.9,1906.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATBNTED APR. 10, 1906. W. H. & S. A. WILSON.

RAILWAY SIGNAL APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED 00T.9,1905.

6 SHEBTSSHEBT 2.

PATENTED APR. 10, 1906. W. H. & s. A. WILSON.

RAILWAY SIGNAL APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED 001. 9, 1905.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N0. 817,459. PATENTED APR. 10, 1906.

W. H. & S. A. WILSON.

RAILWAY SIGNAL APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED 001m. 1905.

6 SHEETS- -SHEET 4 No. 817,459. PATBNTED APR. 10, 1906.

W. H. S: S. A. WILSON.

RAILWAY SIGNAL APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED 0019,1905.

0 SHEETS-SHEET 8.

nlnnnnnllu -n IIIIIIIIIIIII'I' //7 .//7 T :1. i211 F1115 nesses, Fl 15Ina mafia? Wflw J 2. AW

g g I M 62 Iran STATES PATENT oFFIon.

RAILWAY SIGNAL APPARATUS- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 10, 1906.

Application filed October 9,1905. Serial No. 281,894.

To all whom i2 may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM H. WILSON .and SAMUEL A. WILsoN, citizensof the United States, residing at Flint, in the county of Genesee, Stateof Michigan, have invented certain new and. useful Improvements inRailway Signal Apparatus; and. we do declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to thefigures of reference" marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

This invention relates to railway signaling apparatus especiallydesigned for use in connection with a block-signaling system; and itconsists in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fullyset forth, and pointed out particularly in the claims.

The objects of the invention are to provide simple and efficient meansfor automatically displaying train-signals by the passage of the trainover the track in advance of the train and in the rear thereof as well,holding a train in the rear from entering the same block with the trainin advance, and preventing the train from the opposite direction on thesame track entering the same block with the advancing train.

A further object is to provide signals for day and night service and fortrains going in opposite directions.

A further object is to provide means for automatically preventing theoperation of the signals arranged for a westwardly-moving train by atrain moving eastwardly over the track, and vice versa.

A further object is to provide for restoring the signaling mechanism bythe passage of a train over the track in either direction, therebyleaving the mechanism in position to be actuated by a succeeding train.

The above objects are attained by the mechanism illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a diagrammatical view ofthe signals and. actuating mechanism therefor arranged. for a trainmoving in the direction indicated by the arrows in said figure. Fig. 2is a similar view of the signals and actuating mechanism arranged for atrain moving in the opposite direction, as indicated by the arrows. Fig.3 is a perspective view of one set of the signal-operating mechanism aslocated in the track in position to be actuated by the passage of atrain in either direction. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of thesignal-towers, showing the signal-lights and the upper and lower sets ofsignals mounted in said stand and adapted to be carried over said lightsin the operation of the system to indicate the position of a train uponthe track going in either direction. Fig. 5 isa central vertical sectionthrough one of the signal-towers and the housing at the base thereof,showing the movable signals pivoted in the tower and the operatingmechanism connected thereto through vertically-extending rods, saidmechanism being adapted to operate the lower set of signals only, theline on which said. section is taken being indicated by dotted line 5 5of Fig. 13. Fig. 6 is an elevation showing the tread spring or plateadapted to be engaged by the wheel or other part of an engine or car andthe movable arm on one of the rock-shafts of the track mechanism lyingunder said treadplate to be actuated as said plate is depressed. Fig. 7is a perspective view of a section of the track, showing a portion ofthe main rail and the guard-rail adjacent thereto, between which railsthe tread-plate is mounted. Fig. 8 is a transverse section through themain and guard rails and through said tread-plate, other parts appearingin elevation and in fragmentary section. Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view inelevation of a portion of the guard-rail and the curved arm on therock-shaft which lies thereunder. Fig. 10 is a central vertical sectionthrough the signaltower and housing at the base thereof, showing themechanism therein for operating the upper set of signals only. It shouldbe borne in mind, however, that each signal-tower and housing at thebase thereof contain both sets of the operative mechanism shown in Figs5 and 10, said mechanism being separated in said figures in the interestof clearness. Fig. 11 is ahorizontal section throughthe signal-tower andthrough a set of the signals. Fig. 12 is aview, partly in section,through one of the housings at the base of a signal-tower, showing bothsets of the signal operating mechanism therein and also showing inelevation a portion of the track mechanism. Fig. 1 3 is a horizontalsection as on line 13 13 of Fig. 12. Fig. 14 is an enlarged sectionalview through a housing at the base of a signal-tower, showing anenlarged elevation of the signal-actu ating mechanism contained in thegroup of parts at the left of Fig. 1. Fig. is a view similar to Fig. 14of the group of parts at the right of Fig. 2, showing in elevation aportion of the signal-tower and the signal mounted therein. Fig. 16 isan elevation of the springjoint located in the connecting-rods that jointhe mechanism between two of the signaltowers. Fig. 17 is an endelevation of Fig. 16. Fig. 18 is a transverse section as on line 18 18of Fig. 3, the track and guard rails and the depressible tread plate orspring being added and showing in transverse section.

In explanation of Figs. 1, 2, 5, 10, and 15 we wish to state that theposition in which the signals are shown with respect to the operatingmechanism is not technically correct, as said signals should stand atright angles to the levers in the housing at the base of thesignal-tower which operate them. In other words, the signals in actualuse stand at right angles to the track; but in the views above mentionedthey are shown as standing parallel with the track for convenience inillustrating the connection therewith of the operating parts. The trueposition of the signals, however, with respect to the operatingmechanism is shown in Figs. 12 and 13.

In the application of this invention a signaltower and its accompanyingmechanism is located at the intersections of the blocks into which thetrack is divided, said blocks being of such length and employed in suchnumber as the conditions may require.

Referring to the characters of reference, 1 and 2 indicate the rails ofa railway-track, and 3 and 3 the guard-rails mounted between andparallel to the track-rails, as shown more clearly in Figs. 7, 8, 12,13, and 18.

- Below the rails of the track a suitable cemented excavation is made,across which are strung the I-beams 4. (Shown more clearly in Fig. 3.)Mounted upon said I-beams are the bearing-boxes 5, in which is journaledthe square rock-shaft 6. Also mounted upon said I-beams are thebearing-boxes 7, in which is journaled the square rock-shaft 8,

arallel with and in proximity to the shaft 6.

pon the inner ends of the rock-shafts 6 and 8 are the arms 9 and 10,respectively, which are centrally secured to their respective shafts andthrough which the signal mechanism is operated, as hereinafter stated.Mounted to slide longitudinally upon the shaft 8 is a sleeve 11,carrying an upwardlycurved arm 12, adapted to lie between the track-rail1 and the guard-rail 3 under the curved tread-plate 13, which is sosupported between said rails as to permit of its being depressed by theengagement of the flange of the wheel therewith, thereby depressing thecurved arm 12 and rocking the shaft 8. Upon the shaft 6 is mounted toslide longitudinally a sleeve 14, similar to sleeve 11 and havingprojecting upwardly therefrom the curved arm 15, which lies under thetread-plate or depressible curved spring 16, mounted between thetrack-rail 2 and the guard-rail 3, whereby upon the depression of thetreadplate 13 said arm 15 will be actuated to rock the shaft 6. It willbe noted that the sleeves carrying the respective arms 12 and 16 aresquared to receive their respective shafts, whereby they are madelongitudinally movable upon said shafts and are caused to rock saidshafts when depressed. The depressible spring tread-plates 13 and 16 maybe mounted in any suitable manner to enable them to be depressed by thepassage of the flange of the wheel thereover, so as to actuate theirrespective shafts 6 and 8. A convenient form of mounting saidtread-plates is shown in Fig. 6,wherein one end thereof is pivotallymounted at 17, and the other end is provided with a loop 18, whichembraces a pin 19, thereby providing for the elongation of saidtread-spring upon the depression thereof and at the same time confiningit in place. The position of the tread-springs is such as to cause themto be engaged by the flanges of the wheels as the train is passing overthe track, and because of the length and formation of said plates themovement imparted to the rockshafts through the engagement thereof withthe curved arms on said shaftsis made more gradual than though said armswere engaged directly by the wheels, insuring a more gradual operationof the signal mechanism and obviating the liability of injury theretowhen actuated by a train moving at a high rate of speed.

Each of the signal-towers except those at the terminals of the blocksystem is provided with two sets of signals, one set being termed thelower set, which is actuated by trains passing in one direction, and theother set being termed the upper set, which is actuated by trainspassing in the opposite direction. As the signal-towers and thesignaloperating parts are all alike except the terminal towers orsignals above mentioned a detailed explanation of the signal mechanismin one of the towers and the associated track mechanism will suffice forall of the signal towers or stations between the terminals of the blocksystem.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 12 and 13, reference-numeral 20indicates a signal-tower of any suitable construction and of any desiredheight, having a hollow interior through which the verticaloperatingrods pass and in which the signals are pivotally mounted. Atthe base of each tower is a housing 21, containing the operating partsconnected with the signal-rods and with the track mechanism. Eachhousing is provided with two sets of signal-operating partsone setoperating the lower signals and the other set operating the uppersignals-and for the purpose of convenience and in order to avoidconfusion the two sets of signal-operating parts located in each of thesignal-towers andv housings are separately shown in Figs. 5 and 10,although in reality said parts are associated in a single tower andhousing, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13.

Referring now to Fig. 5, in connection with Fig. 13, it will be seenthat the rock-shaft 8, carrying the rigidly-attached arm 10, extendsinto the housing 21 and that the lower end of said arm is pivoted to oneend of a draw-bar 22. Pivoted at 23 to said draw-bar is a curved lever24, which is fulcrumed at 25 and the free end of which is connected. tothe lower end of the vertically-reciprocatory rod 26, which passesupwardly through the signal-tower and is pivoted at 27 to the signalarm28, which is ournaled within the tower upon the transverse shaft 29 andthe opposite ends of which project through slotted. openings in thetower to allow said arm to swing freely upon its pivot; The rearwardly'extending portion of the signal-arm 28 carries a signal-board 30 uponthe opposite faces thereof, while the forward portion of said arm, whichprojects through the front of the signal-tower, is forked, as clearlyshown in Fig. 1 1,the sides 31 of said fork carrying circular frames inwhich are seated colored glasses, of which the glass 32 is red and theopposite glass 33 is green. The distance between the fork sides 31. issufficient to allow said fork when the signal-arm is actuated to showthe signals at night to stand. upon opposite sides of the signal-lamp34, the light from which shines through said colored glasses to displaythe desired signals to trains appro aching the signal-tower. To theupper end of the arm 10 on shaft 8 is connected the pushbar 35 by meansof the pin 36 in said arm, which passes through the slot 37 in said bar.To the opposite end of bar 37 is pivoted the curved lever 38, which isfulcrumed at 39 and tothe free end of which is attached. the lower endof the vertical rod 40, which passes up wardly through the tower and ispivoted to the angular signal-arm 41, which is mounted upon the shaft 29and whose rear end projects through a slotted opening in the tower andcarries upon the opposite faces thereof the signal-boards42. It will benoted on referring to Fig. 11 that the shaft 29 at the point where thearm 41 is mounted thereon is squared, as at 43, whereby said arm is madeto rotate with said shaft. It will also be noted that the opposite endof saidv shaft is squared, as at 44, and that mounted upon said squaredportion is an auxiliary arm 45, which stands parallel with that portionof signal-arm 41 which projects through the front of thesignal-tower. Bythis arrangement the forwardly-projecting portion of the arm 41 and. theauxiliary arm 45 are made to swing in unison by the rocking of the shaft29 and are held in parallel alinement. In the outer ends of the arms 41and 45 are colored glasses similar to those in the forked end of arm 28,of which glass 46 is red and glass 47 is green. By this arrangement eachof the sig nal-arms 28 and 41 are mounted to have independent movementand are adapted to shift one past the other, and both are provided withmeans for displaying lights of the requisite color to approaching trainswhen operated to carry the glasses in the ends thereof into positionupon the opposite sides of lamp 34. Above the lamp 34 is a suitablehousing 48, which protects said lamp and under which the signal-glassesare concealed when said signals are not in service. It will beunderstood that the colored signal-glasses are used in connection withthe lamp for night signals and that the signal boards upon the rear endsof the signal-arms are used for signals in the day-time, the oppositesides of said. boards being painted red and white to correspond with theglasses carried in the outer ends of the signal-arms The mechanism abovedescribed relates to the parts employed for actuating the lower set ofsignals. The parts employed for actuating the upper set of signals areillustrated more particularly in Fig. 10 and will be described withreference thereto and to Figs. 12

and 13. The inner end of shaft 6, as will be seen, also extends in thehousing 21. and carries the arm 9, to the lower end of which is pivoteda draw-bar 49, to which is pivoted a curved lever 50, fulcrumed at 51and having attached to the free end thereof the lower end of thevertical rod 52, which extends up wardly in the signal-tower and ispivoted at 53 to the signal-arm 54, ournaled upon the transverse shaft55 and projecting at its opposite ends through slotted openings in thewall of the tower. The forward end of said. arm 54, like arm 28, isforked at its outer end, and the fork sides 56 thereof carry thesignalglasses, of which the glass 57 is green and the glass 58 is red.These glasses are spaced by means of the fork construction of said arm,so as to cause them to stand upon opposite sides of the lamp 59 whenthey are pulled. downwardly in the operation of signaling, therebyshowing a green and a red light upon opposite sides of the lamp. Therear end of the arm 54 is provided with the signal-boards 60, which arepainted red and White upon opposite sides of said arm to correspond withthe colored glasses carried by said arm at its forward end.

To the upper end of the arm 9 upon rockshaft 6 is connected the push-bar61 by means of the pin 62 in said arm, which passes through the slot 63in said bar. Pivoted to the opposite end of the bar 61 is a curved lever64, which is fulcrumed at 65 and the free end of which is attached tothe lower end of the vertical rod 66, passing upwardly in thesignal-tower and pivoted at 67 to the curved signal-arm. 68, which ismounted upon the transverse shaft 55 similar to the manner in whichsignal-arm 41 is mounted upon shaft 29, said signal-arn1'68 having tooperate in conjunction with its forwardly-extending end, an auxiliaryarm 69, fixed to shaft 55 in the manner of connecting auxiliary arm .45with its operating shaft, as already ex plained, so as to cause saidauxiliary arm and the outer end of arm 68 to move in unison andsimultaneously display the colored glasses carried in the outer endsthereof upon opposite sides of the lamp 59 when actuated in theoperation of the signal, the glass 70 being green and the glass 71 beingred.

It will now be understood that by means of the track mechanism and thesignal-operating parts the signals in the tower will be actuated by atrain moving in either direction to display said signals, and therebyindicate the position of the train for purposes hereinafter explained.

Because of the fact that the several sets of signal-operating deviceswhich are interposed between the several blocks of the system are joinedthrough connecting cables or rods and are capable only of joint use itwill be necessary in order to explain intelligently the operation of thesystem to commence with the initial signal-station at the end of thesystem and describe the operation of the several sets of parts at eachsignal-tower as the train passes along the track. Beginning at the rightof Fig. 1, which illustrates a section of track comprising three blocksand shows four signaltowers, we will describe the operation of the trainpassing along the track in the direction indicated by the arrows. As thetrain passes the first signal-tower the flange of the wheel actuates thearm 72 to rock the shaft 73 and cause the arm 74 thereon to be drawnupon the bar 75, which is pivoted to said arm, thereby actuating saidbar to operate the curved lever 76, which is pivoted thereto andfulcrumed at 77, carrying upwardly the free end of said lever and movingvertically the rod 78, attached thereto to swing the pivoted signal-arm79, which corresponds with signal-arm 28, previously described, andcarries the colored glass in the end thereof over the lamp, so as toshow a red light to a train following. By the same movement of the bar75 which actuates the signal-arm 79 the rod or cable 80, attached to theforward end of said bar and extending to and connected with the bar 35in the succeeding set of signal-operatingparts, is drawn up on, therebymoving said bar longitudinally and actuating the lever 38, connectedthere with, to shove upwardly upon the rod 40 and actuate the signal-arm41 to carry the glasses in the ends thereof into position upon oppositesides of the lamp 34, showing a green light to the approaching train anda red light upon the opposite side of the lamp, indicating a clear trackfor the approaching train and setting a red light against a train shouldit approach from the opposite direction. In

the day-time when lights are notin service the boards-upon therearwardly-projecting ends of said arms which are colored white and red,as before described, serve as signals which control the running of thetrains. Because of the slot 37 in the bar 35, through which passes thepin 36 of the arm 10, the longitudinal movement of said bar by the cable80 does not impart any movement to the shaft 8, therefore leavingsignal-arm 42 undisturbed. As the train passes the second tower orstation the wheels of the train will depress the curved arm 12, therebyrocking the shaft 8 and swinging the arm 10, the upper end of whichmoves the bar 35 longitudinally and actuates the lever 38 to drawdownwardly upon the rod 40 and restore the signal-arm 41 to its normalposition at the same time the lower end of arm 10 draws the bar 22longitudinally and actuates the lever 24 to shove the rod 26 upwardly,thereby swinging the signal 42 to carry its glasses over the light andextend its vane or indicating-board in an upward direction. Thisshifting of the signals sets a red light for the train approaching fromthe rear, thereby indicating the presence of a train in the block aheadto a train going in the same direction and displays a green light on theopposite side, which may be seen by the engineer upon looking to therear. When the train passes from the first block into the second block,it is necessary to show a clear board at the initial signal-station, aresult which is accomplished by the longitudinal movement of the bar 35,which movement draws upon the bar 75 through the connecting-cable 80 andactuates the lever 76 to swing the signal 79 to its normal position. Atthe same time the movement of said bar restores the shaft 73 and thecurved depressible arm 72 thereon to their normal position for asucceeding operation. Itis also necessary when the train passes from thefirst block into the second block to set a signal against a trainentering the second block from the opposite direction. This isaccomplished through the medium of the cable 81 ,which connects theforward end of the bar 22 with the rear end of the succeeding bar 35 inthe third IIO signal-station, causing the longitudinal move- I ment ofbar 22 to impart a like movement to said bar 35, thereby actuating thelever 38 in the third station to throw upwardly the signal 41 throughthe connecting-rod 40, thereby showing a green light to the engineer ofthe train passing along the track in the direction of the arrows andindicating a clear track and at the same time setting a red lightagainst a train approachingfrom the opposite direction. It will now beunderstood that when a train passes the second signal-station itactuates the mechanism therein to clear the track at the first station,

to reverse the signals at said second station, and to set the signals inthe third station, thereby always maintaining a red light ordanger-signal to a train approaching the block in which the train ismoving from either direction and always showing a green light or cleartrack in advance and at the rear of said moving train. Upon reaching thethird signalstation the operation de scribed at the second station isrepeated, whereby the signals at the third station are reversed, thetrack cleared at the second station, and a signal set at the fourthstation in advance of the train, and so on the operation is repeated ateach station or signaltower at the termination of each block of thetrack. The terminal station of the block system, like the initialstation, has but one set of signals and is shown at the extreme left ofFig. 1, its push-bar 82 being connected with the draw-bar 22 of thethird station by the cable 83, whereby as the train passes said terminalstation it actuates the arm 84 to rock the shaft 85 and swing the arm 86to carry the bar 82 longitudinally to draw upon the rod 83 and actuatethe signal mechanism at the third station to clear the track and at thesame time operate the lever 87 to draw upon the rod 88 and swing thepivoted signalarm 89 to show a clear track at said terminal station, sothat the engineer of a train entering the third block of the systemwould know that the preceding train had passed from said block.

The operation of the signals by a train assing from right to left, asillustrated in ig. 1, is practically repeated in Fig. 2,

wherein is shown the signals actuated by a train passing from left toright and the mechanism for operating them. As before stated, these setsof-mechanism for operating the signals by trains passing in oppositedirections are preferably located in the same signal-tower; but, ifdesired, they may be located in separate towers on opposite sides of thetrack. The signals that are shown as actuated by a train passing fromright to left are the lower signals, while the signals actuated by thepassage of a train from left to right are the upper signals, asillustrated in Fig. 2, in which the mechanism at the first stationbecomes the initial mechanism and consists of the rock-shaft 90, thecurved depressible arm 91, mounted thereon, and the arm 92 on the end ofsaid shaft, to which is connected the draw-bar 93, which is drawnlongitudinally as the shaft 90 is rocked through the depression of thearm 91 by the passage of the wheels over the track, thereby actuatingthe lever 94, which is pivoted to said bar and fulcrumed at 95, so as toshove upwardly upon the rod 96 and swing the pivoted signal-arm 97 so asto carry the lights therein over the signallamp and display a red lightto an approaching train from the rear and a green light in the rear ofthe passing train. By the same movement of the bar 98 which actuates thelever 94 the cable 98, which is connected at one end to said bar and atthe opposite end to the bar 61 of the succeeding signalstation or tower,is drawn upon to pull the bar 61 longitudinally and actuate the lever64, pivoted thereto, to shove upwardly upon the rod 66, pivoted tosignal-arm 68, and swing said arm so as to carry the glasses thereinover the signallamp to display a red light to a train approaching in thesecond block from the opposite direction and display a green light tothe engineer of the train passing to the right to indicate a cleartrack. As the train passes the second station the mechanism therein isactuated to reverse the signals, as before described, and clear thetrack in the rear by restoring the signal at the initial station, at thesame time setting the signals in the next station in advance, as beforedescribed, the operation being repeated as the train passes from oneblock into another. The second and third stations in Fig. 2 are actuatedby the connecting rod or cable 99, and the operative parts in the thirdand fourth stations in said view are connected by the connectingcable100, the set at the fourth or terminal station having the rocloshaft 101with the curved depressible arm 102 thereon, whereby the passage of thewheels of the train may rock said shaft to swing the arm l03,lixedthereon, and actuate the sliding bar 104 to operate the lever 105,pivoted thereto and suitably fulcrumed, whereby the rod 106, connectedto said lever is actuated to swing the signal 107 to the normalposition, or the position indicating a clear track. A more complete viewof the parts shown at the right of Fig. 2 is illustrated in Fig. 15, andin Fig. 14 is an enlarged view showing more completely the mechanism atthe left of Fig. 1, the upper portion of the signal-tower and the signalin said last-mentioned view being broken away.

It is evident that the depressible arms which actuate the rook-shaftsthat in turn operate the signal mechanism and which are located in thepath of the flange of the wheels would both be actuated by a trainpassing in either direction if some provision were not made for drawingsaid arms out of the path of the flange of the wheels in alternatesuccession by the trains passing in opposite directions, so that onlythe arms designed to operate the signals for a train passing in onedirection can remain in operative position. The mechanism foralternately moving said depressible arms out of the path of the flangeof the wheels is illustrated more clearly in Fig. 3 and will bedescribed with relation to to said figure, although said mechanism isalso shown in elevation and in plan in Figs. 12 and 13. Fixed to shaft 8so as to turn therewith is a crank-arm 108, to the free end of which isattached a rod 109, whose opposite end is pivotally connected to oneterminal of a bell-crank lever 110, the opposite terminal of said leverbeing pivotally connected to one end of a draw-bar 111, whose oppositeend is connected to a clamping-collar 112, which is seated in acircumferential channel in the sleeve 14, carrying the curveddepressible arm 15, said sleeve being adapted to rotate or turn withinsaid collar. By this arrangement when the train approaches from theright and depresses the curved arm 12 the shaft 8 will be actuated tooperate the bell-crank lever 110 and draw the sleeve 14 longitudinallyupon shaft 6, thereby moving the arm 15 longitudinally on shaft 6 underthe guard-rail 3, the under side of which is cut out, as at 113, forthat purpose, as shown by dotted lines in'Figs. 13 and 18, whereby thedepressible arm 15 is carried out of the path of the passing wheels andis not in a po sition to be'actuated thereby until restored by the trainas it-passes from the block and actuates the mechanism at the succeedingsignal-station, the operation of which mechanism, as before described,draws upon the rod 81 and pulls the bar 22 longitudinally, therebyrocking shaft 8, so as to restore it to its normal position and raisethe depressible arm 12, at the same time operating the bellcrank lever110 in the opposite direction to carry the sleeve 14 back to itsoriginal position and place the depressible arm 15 in the path of thewheels of a train approaching from the left. The same arrangement isemployed to draw the compressible arm 12 on shaft 8 out of operativeposition when arm 15 on shaft 6 is depressed by a train moving to theright, said mechanism consisting of a crank-arm 114, fixed to the shaft6, to which is pivoted a connecting-rod 115, the opposite terminal ofsaid lever being connected to a bar 117, which is attached to aclamping-collar 118, seated in a peripheral channel of the sleeve 11 andwithin which said sleeve is free to oscillate, whereby the rocking ofshaft 6 will actuate the bell-crank lever 16 to slide the sleeve 11 andcarry the attached depressible arm 12 under the guard-rail 3, said partsbeing restored in a manner previously de scribed.

In order to compensate for any variation in the movement of the signaloperating parts in the several signal-stations which are connected bythe cables or connecting-rods leading from one to the other, said rodsor cables are preferably ointed, as shown in Fig. 16, wherein the endsof the rod-sections are provided with right angular portions 119,through which the opposite parts of the rodsections pass, there being acompressible spring 120 interposed between the ends 119, whereby shouldthe rod be drawn upon in either direction a distance in excess of whatpressed when the movement of the rod 81 is in excess of what is requiredfor a perfect operation of the connected parts.

In order to arrest the curved depressible arms of the track mechanismwhen returned after being depressed, so as to cause them to stand at theproper elevation, an angular projection 121 (see Fig. 9) may be formedthereon, which will engage a shoulder 122 on one of the rails, wherebysaid arm will be stopped when it is returned to its proper position.

While we have shown the depressible arms as being adapted to be actuatedby the wheels of a car or train, it is evident that said arms may bearranged to be actuated by any part of the car without departing fromthe spirit of our invention.

Having thus fully set forth our invention, what we claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a railway block-signalsystem, the combination of a plurality of signalstations, each stationhaving a plurality of movable signals, mechanism at each station foroperating the signals adapted to be actuated by a passing train, thesignal-operating mechanism for the several stations being connectedmechanically to display a warning-signal a block ahead of the advancingtrain, and to display at the same station a signal. indicating for saidtrain a clear track, at the same time setting a warning-signal in therear of the moving train, to prevent a train following entering theblock occupied by the firstmentioned train. I

2. In a railway bloclcsignal system, the combination of a plurality ofsignal-stations dividing the track into blocks, movable Sig-- nals foreach station, mechanism connected with each station for operating itssignals, the mechanism of the several stations being mechanicallyconnected, and means connected with the signal-operating mechanismadapted to be actuated by a'moving car, for setting a warningsignal inthe rear of said car, and also in the block in advance thereof, and atthe same time indicating a clear track in the block occupied by saidcar, and means actuated by the car in passing into the succeeding blockfor clearing the signals in the block last occupied by said car.

3. In a railway block-signal system, the combination of a plurality ofsignal-stations dividing the track into blocks, movable signals at eachstation, means at each station for operating said signals, meansconnecting the signals of the several stations, means connected witheach set of signal-operating means at each station adapted to beactuated by a passing car moving in either direction -for setting thesignals in advance of the moving car, and in the rear thereof and forsimultaneously clearing the signals from the block last occupied by saidcar.

4. In a railway block-signal system, the combination of a plurality ofsignal-stations dividing the track into blocks, each of said stationshaving a plurality of reciprocatory signals, means at each station foractuating said signals, means connecting mechanically thesignal-actuating means of the several stations, track mechanism at eachstation connected with the signalactuating means adapted to be actuatedby a passing car to change the signals at the station whose mechanism isimmediately actuated by the car in passing, and to set the signals atthe stations in the rear and in advance of said car.

5. In a railway block-signal system, the combination of a plurality ofstations dividing the track into blocks, each station having a pluralityof signals, means at each station for operating said signals, trackapparatus for actuating the signal-operating means at each station, saidtrack apparatus being adapted to be actuated by a passing car, meansconnecting the signal-operating means of the several stations, operatedby the actuation of the track apparatus at an intermediate station by apassing car or train, to cause a change of the signals at saidintermediate station, and to simultaneously set the signals at thestations on opposite sides of said intermediate station.

6. In a railway block-signal system, the combination with a plurality ofsignalstations, of movable signals in said stations, means for actuatingsaid signals, track mechanism for operating the signal-actuating meansadapted to be operated by a passing car, means connecting saidsignal-stations operated by a passing car at any one station to set asignal in the station which the car is passing, and also in the stationin advance, and to operate said signals to show a clear track at bothstations by the actuation of the mechanism at the station in which theadvance signal was set when the car passes said advance station.

7. In a railway block-signal system, the combination with asignal-station, of two sets of signals therein, means for operating saidsignals independently, a track mechanism for each set ofsignal-operating means, a movable member in each track mechanism,through the medium of which it is operated by a passing car, and meansconnecting said movable members to withdraw one from action when theother is actuated to operate a set of signals.

8. In a railway block-signal system, the combination with asignal-station having two sets of signals therein, means for operatingeach set of signals independently, a track apparatus connected with eachset of signal-operating means having a movable member adapted to beengaged by the wheel of a car to operate said apparatus, each of saidmovable members being slidable out of the path of said wheels, meansconnecting said members to slide one out of operative position when theother is depressed.

9. In a railway block-signal system, the combination of asignal-station, two sets of signals therein, means for independently operating said signals, track mechanism connected with thesignal-operating means, adapted to be actuated by the wheels of a car,one part of said mechanism operating one set of signals when the car ispassing in one direction, the other mechanism operating the other set ofsignals when the car is passing in the opposite direction, and means forpreventing the actuation of but one set of signals by the passage of thecar in either direction.

In testimony whereof we sign this specification in the presence of twowitnesses WILLIAM H. WILSON. SAMUEL A. WILSON.

Witnesses 2 E. S. WHEELER, I. G. HOWLE'r'r.

